The two teams from the northeastern states will play to their fullest potential secure the final berth at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Naharlagun later on Thursday.

Arunachal stormed into the semifinal with a 3-1 win-loss record. They had beaten Maharashtra 1-0 in the opener, drubbed Punjab and Tamil Nadu 5-0 and 9-1 in the second and third match before going down fighting 0-1 to Odisha in their last pool match.

On the other hand, Mizoram advanced to the last four with three wins and a draw.

They drew 2-2 with Maharashtra and beat Telengana, Haryana and Jharkhand.

Though both the teams are poised as equals, Team Arunachal will definitely have the advantage of playing at home turf.

Odisha will lock horns with Jharkhand in the first semi final at 1.30 pm on Thursday.

Arunachal Football Association Secretary Kipa Ajay informed that Anil Kamat, AGS and Competition Director of All India Football Federation will be arriving at Naharlagun on Thursday to witness the semifinals and final match.

He also informed that a talent scouting teams from AIFF will conduct trials for boys and girls on Dec 16, 17 and 18 at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

The scouting team includes National Youth (Boys) Coach Bibiano Fernandes and National Women’s Team Coach Maymol Rocky.

Northeast Now is a multi-app based hyper-regional bilingual news portal. Led by a group of professionals, the digital news platform covers every inch of the eight states of northeast India and the five neighbouring countries. It is the first of its kind new media initiative in the northeast, and is based in Guwahati. As the political dynamics in the northeast is intricate and fluid, Northeast Now is always politically neutral.